One of the downsides of any storytelling medium is that sometimes you get left dangling. Plenty of television programs have ended on cliffhangers or with dangling plots. I was a huge fan of Deadwood, but that third season ends in a sort of anticlimactic fashion that leaves me wanting more. Even worse, The Riches ended on a downright cliffhanger.
So I’ve decided to dedicate this column to three series that left me dangling in the hopes that I may finally get some resolution.
Desolation Jones was a book that didn’t know about when it first launched, but once I discovered it I tracked down all the issues and got current. Desolation Jones was about a former MI6 agent who survived bizarre government tests and is now relegated to Los Angeles. I mean, it’s deeper than that, but that’s the gist of the book.
It was written by Warren Ellis and featured art from J.H. Williams III on the first arc and Danijel Zezej for the final few issues. It’s an entertaining book with Ellis’ trademark weirdness. And since it’s got Williams and Zezej on art, it’s just gorgeous to look. Also Jose Villarrubia’s colors such beauty to the whole affair.
Desolation Jones only ran for eight issues, which is sort of torturous because we literally got an arc and a third. The audience had barely scratched the surface of what the book could have become. And of course because it’s Ellis and it was a Wildstorm book, it very unlikely that Desolation Jones will return (though the character did make a cameo in the second issue of Batwoman.)
Speaking of Warren Ellis, he’s dropped the ball on another book and left the audience hanging. Fell was supposed to be an experiment in the format. It was a book that featured a $1.99 price point and self-contained stories. Every issue was “one and done.”
Fell was about big city cop who was transferred to Snowtown after a scandal. He adjusts to the weird new city and it’s creepy residents. It’s a unique read and features some really gripping art from Ben Templesmith.
Fell ran for nine issues before technical problems forced a hiatus. Rumor has it that new work is on the horizon, but it’s something that I’ll believe when I actually have it in my hands.
Now the third book that left me hanging isn’t technically a “book.” It’s actually a series of miniseries. Ivan Brandon’s work with Nemesis on Final Crisis Aftermath: Escape and Nemesis: The Impostors was such a great read that I’m worried it’ll never be followed up on.
The first mini detailed Nemesis trying to navigate the twisty turns of Electric City and figure out the motivations of the Global Peace Agency. It’s confusing, which makes it thrilling. And the redaction of some of the captions makes it quite an entertaining puzzle to unravel.
The second mini saw Nemesis battling literal imposters. But it ended on a cliffhanger with Nemesis getting thrown in prison and waiting for the conspiracy out to get him, to literally come to him.
It seemed ripe for a third mini with a conclusion to the entire affair. But then Flashpoint happened and no one’s seen Thomas Tresser since.
I know that many folks here at Comics Nexus loved Ivan Brandon’s take on Nemesis and would appreciate seeing him return to the character and wrap things up. Sadly that doesn’t appear to be anywhere on the horizon.
There you have it; the three stories that I really wish would be followed up on. I’m sure you’ve got some. Hell, I’m sure we could fill an entire column with things that Geoff Johns never got around to following up on before wiping the slate clean with Flashpoint. But we won’t go there. This week.
Anyway, it’s Wednesday go and grab some new comics from your friendly local comic shop and read them.
